Inter take advantage of Roma slip

FC Internazionale Milano increased their Serie A lead to five points as they cruised to a 4-0 win against Torino Calcio while second-placed AS Roma were held 1-1 by AS Livorno Calcio.

Unanswered goals
Inter were in control from the start against Torino and went ahead late in the first half when Zlatan Ibrahimović was felled in the box by Gianluca Comotto and stepped up to convert the penalty himself. The second goal followed in the 50th minute when Cristian Chivu embarked on a run down the left and chipped in a cross for Julio Cruz to head in. Luis Jiménez soon added another as he burst into the Torino area and unleashed an unstoppable shot. Iván Córdoba had the least word with a close-range header.

Roma denied
Things looked good for Roma when Daniele De Rossi gave them a fourth-minute lead at Livorno, but Diego Tristán swiftly equalised and although the visitors dominated possession they had to settle for a draw. Roma are now only three points ahead of Juventus, who defeated Atalanta BC 1-0 thanks to a long-range Pavel Nedvěd effort four minutes from time. Udinese Calcio are just one point behind Juve after coming from behind to defeat UC Sampdoria 3-2 thanks to a pair of late goals from Fabio Quagliarella. ACF Fiorentina are a further four points back in fifth after losing 2-0 away to US Città di Palermo on Saturday.

Pozzi heroics
Four teams began the day level at the bottom on ten points, but two of those sides secured victories this afternoon. Empoli FC moved ahead of Cagliari Calcio with a 4-1 victory thanks to four Nicola Pozzi goals while AC Siena picked up a 3-1 win at Genoa CFC, themselves only two points clear of the relegation zone. Fellow strugglers Reggina Calcio were not in action as scheduled opponents AC Milan are involved in the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan next week. In Sunday's late game, SSC Napoli meet Parma FC.